AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.30 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 539.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,083 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $69.45 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.95 and a 200-day moving average of $74.37. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.